The Tribune from Scranton, Pennsylvania • 1

Wayne Cera iMAlA -ifcx Jww i vrf 4 Sfrl A iAS? x9 ifelt 4. (U -f. I -vd ii tmp rwr tjr Aei. Wp.Sw.' iSS? x8 gr i isSa iVa 4 st A I -vd it Regional news Page C6 4 THE TRIBUNE, SCRANTON, PA TUESDAY, JUNE 2, 1998 A3 vm ip? Of 0 i i1 Vrf; vix. tt- uy.iiiM 'Tf rtW Tornados tear up Wayne, PoSce BOB TOMAINE TRIBUNE CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER some of the widespread damage left in the wake of a tornado that hit the area Sunday.

Justin Kemery, 10, picks his way through what was a stand of pine trees at Promised Land. The devastating scene hints at Brownell saw the tornado just before it hit a funnel cloud sweeping down a wooded hill into his back yard Ill never forget it. It got real calm, then the branches on the trees started moving differently. The windows started whistling, and then I saw the tornado. Mr.

Brownell lost 32 trees in his yard. At noon Monday, he When it was all over everyone went outside to see the damage. Just then a man with a cell phone drove up, she remembers. He called 911 and then he handed over his phone. He told the group of stunned survivors to use the phone to call their families, and hed be back for the phone in a few days.

In South Sterling, Michael FjU. 3-11 4, IEHISMORNIN Two-car crash injures three CANAAN TWP. Police continue to investigate a two-car crash on Farview Mountain that left three people injured. State Police at Honesdale report that a 1996 Dodge Grand Caravan operated by Edward L. Murray, 45, Honesdale, was traveling east Friday on Rt.

6 when Rodney Sinawa, 36, 219 East Waymart, operating a 1992 GMC Sierra pickup, failed to stop at the intersection of Rt. 6 and Carbon-dale Road. Mr. Sinawa's vehicle crossed onto Rt. 6, striking the left side of Mr.

Murray's vehicle and pushing it across Rt. 6 and into a tree. Mr. Murray and passenger Benjamin Murray, 14, were not injured but another passenger, 43-year-old Rebecca Murray, suffered a possible "broken leg. Mr.

Sinawa suffered a leg injury and a passenger, 48-year-old James Sinawa suffered a neck injury. All people involved were wearing seatbelts. Waymart police, fire company and emergency medical personnel assisted at the scene. Dingmans man found dead DINGMANS FERRY State Police at Blooming Grove are continuing the investigation into the death of a man at his residence in the Wild Acre Development this weekend. Police report that the body of Mark Thomas Hilley, 45, was discovered at his residence on Nicole Court on Saturday at 5 a.m.

by friends. An autopsy was performed at the Pocono Medical Center, the results have not been released pending a toxicology report. Assisting at the scene was Pike County Coroner Kevin Stroyan. Two teens hurt in crash SEELYVILLE Two Wayne County teenagers suffered minor injuries following a one-car accident on Rt. 6, Texas Township.

State police at Honesdale report that Julia Marie Fletcher, 17, P.O. Box 311, White Mills, was operating a 1992 Oldsmobile Delta 88 west on Rt. 6 Sunday when she lost control of the vehicle on a wet roadway. The vehicle spun in a counter-clockwise manner off the north berm, over a guardrail and struck a tree. Ms.

Fletcher and passenger Amy Marie Gledhill, 17, Waymart, suffered head injuries and were treated and released from Wayne Memorial Hospital. Seelyville Fire Company assisted at the scene. Robber hits truck stop TAFTON State police at Blooming Grove are seeking information about a robbery early Monday morning at the Promised Land Truck Stop off of 1-84. Police report that about 2 a.m. an actor wearing a hood and cloth mask entered the station armed with a handgun and demanded money.

He left in a red two-door vehicle, driven by another suspect, and headed north on State Route 390. One suspect is described as a white male, approximately 6-feet tall with a slim build, the other is described as a white male, 5-feet, 6-inches tall with short blonde hair. Anyone with any information is asked to call the PSP at 226-1862. GDS starting fair pageant NEWFOUNDLAND The Greene-Dreher-Sterling Community Fair is accepting applications for the 1998 GDS Fair Queen Pageant, which will be held Sept. 1 at 5 p.m.

at the fairgrounds on State Route 191. The pageant is open to any girl who is a resident of Wayne or Pike counties. Applicants must be single and at least 16 years of age and not older than 20 years old by June 1. The queen makes scheduled appearances on behalf of the GDS Fair throughout the year as a goodwill ambassador to encourage the promotion of agriculture. Additional information on entering the contest may be obtained by calling Shelly Shafer at 676-3305.

By Jane Bollinger and Bob Tomaine TRIBUNE REGIONAL STAFF Jeff Riesle offers one of the most graphic descriptions of a tornado youll ever hear. If you took all the engines at Steamtown and blew all the horns and the whistles, you still couldnt match its sound. Mr. Riesle is first assistant fire chief for the Greene-Dreher Volunteer Fire Company. Its Monday afternoon in Promised Land State Park and he, like most of the volunteers here, has had only a short nap since the storm swept through the park just after 7 p.m.

Sunday. Sunday night and in the predawn hours of Monday, he and his crew of volunteers cut their way to peoples homes and campsites. Between the darkness and the downed trees, there were times when you couldnt see, you couldn't walk. And then a second strong storm hit around 10 p.m. The hail started, the rain came pouring down, the wind blew so hard, you couldnt stand up, he says.

But they kept cutting with their chain saws. Their goal was to open the roads in the park in case ambulance or fire crews needed to get in. Luckily very luckily there were no medical or fire emergencies. Monday afternoon and Debbie Brown is on duty as the bartender at the Promised Land Inn. Across the street is a view like Mount St.

Helens without the' ashes bare stumps of jagged tall trees as far as you can see. Ms. Brown tells about the night of the tornado. She and about 15 customers huddled inside the bar, when someone finally insisted that everyone go down in the basement. Shortage of power still felt By Thomas M.

Di-Staaio TRIBUNE REGIONAL STAFF Power to those hardest hit by Sundays storm may not be coming back for two or three days. Bill Bergstresser, spokesman, said that as of 5 m. Monday there were still about 14,000 customers without service, the majority in the southern end, including Hamlin, Promised Land and Blooming Grove. Mr. Bergstresser said that what is making the clean up tedious is the concentration of damage one area he noted had about eight to ten poles in a row down.

Weve brought in extra crews, he said. We have 12 crew contractors from Baltimore, Lancaster and Gettysburg and we even had a helicopter brought in. The big problem for us is getting to the damaged areas to clean them up there are so many trees down. I expect it will be two or three days until most people get their power back. Glen Gunuskey, director of-the Wayne County Emergency Management Agency, said Sundays storm caused spotty damage in Wayne County, with most of the severe damage in Pike County.

A tornado was noted on Doppler radar and by a spotter in the Hamlin area at 9.50 p.m. Sunday. Damages from the touchdown are sketchy. Because of the terrain in that Fire being By Thomas K. Staff TRIBONE STAFF WRITER A fire that destroyed part of the Alltec Lansing Technologies plant Sunday remains under investigation, but the company expects to open its doors today.

Three hundred firefighters from three states responded to the blaze, which leveled a warehouse and research and development facility. The fire broke out as severe weather swept -through the region, but authorities did not speculate on the cause, which re- 3biflCru wjl Jr 1 This home at Promised Land is one of a number of structures in trees knocked down by Sunday's tornado. seemed like a lifetime, he recalled. I saw an eight-foot piece of somebodys roof going round and round in the air. Almost all of his beautiful hemlock trees in the back yard are gone.

He says there were 50 of them 40 feet high. But he has to finish cutting up the tree in his front yard before he gets to the back. a Honesdale Planners OK changes! for prison By Thomas M. Di-Stasio TRIBUNE REGIONAL STAFF The countys move to transform the former Nan Patterson property on 10th Street to a work release station for the prison got a major boost on Monday. The boroughs planning commission agreed to recommend granting a variance on parking and a special exception to the boroughs zoning hearing board.

Citing the countys need to expand governmental buildings and prison facilities, the county took possession of the land and building on Dec. 30 under the eminent domain law. County engineer Steve Knash told the planners that the commissioners were also seeking la variance on the sideyard setback. said that comments on the countys plan from Zoning Officer Mike Wood indicated a problem with a set of stairs thpt would serve as the main entrance to the work release station. The steps as designed would I cross onto another property but Mr.

Knash said he didnt see that fact as an extension of use on an: other property. He noted that having the steps on the jail side of the building would allow a line of sight from the prison. The countys original plan called for the steps to be inside and the entrance would be made from 10th Street, he said. For se curity reasons, that was Another point Mr. Wood made in his comments is the use of the smaller building commonly referred to as the carriage house! Mr.

Knash said that building would be used for storage of mattresses, files and prisoners belongings. Such a use would make it an accessory to the original building, Mr. Wood said. In response to a question by Wayne County Solicitor Lee Krause, Mr. Wooj said if the two lots were combined, the question would be moot.

Mr. Wood said the question bf the stairs as a non-conformiqg structure could go before borough council or his interprefa-tion could be challenged in front of the zoning hearing board. had no phone service or electricity. In fact, the electric meter box was ripped off the side of the house and lying on the lawn. Across the street at mid-day, utility crews were hoisting a new pole into place and restringing the phone wires.

Next door, Roger Morris remembers what it was like. It was a few seconds that J. TRIBUNE CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER the area that were struck by low, he said. Our car made it under, but a bus will never make it. I fully expect some kids will miss the rest of this week.

Louis Zefran, superintendent of the Western Wayne School District does not expect to have any schedule changes this week be--cause of the storm. The only school affected was the one in Hamlin, he said. It didn't suffer any damage but the power was off (Monday). We ran the back-up generator so we had the use of water and the power came back on between 11.30 a.m. and noon.

Lunch isn't generated iijrthat school, it is brought over from the Middle School, so that was not affected. to reopen ture to continue operating today. Firefighters from Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey responded to the fire at the height of a severe thunderstorm Sunday night. V. fik i 1 i f-2 'j BOB TOMAINE Honesdale LL trict, said there was no a m.

kindergarten Monday and school ran on a two-hour delay. He expects to have normal schedule today and rest of week but may have to modify bus runs. The Newfoundland School was not damaged but the areas around it including South Sterling, Greentown and Promised Land were hard hit. Mr. Peifer said he took a tour Monday afternoon of the harder hit areas and described it as devastated.

There were roads that the power lines were hanging very company 71 hree hundred area, the tornado would touch down and then go up again and then touch down again, he said. Its hard to get a real handle on the amount of damage because of the terrain. Downed trees and wires caused the main damage, he of Monday morning, said about 15,000 customers were out in Wayne and Pike counties. The damage to homes was basically confined to second homes, he said. "Until the people come back up and assess the damage, we will not have a specific dollar amount to talk about.

Tom Peifer, superintendent of Wallenpaupack Area School Dis- probed; Milford Twp. mains under investigation. The lack of water hampered ef forts, Milford Fire Chief George Chalupa said. After closing the road, firefighters ran a 5-inch hose about 5,000 feet to the nearby Delaware River. Firefighters closed parts of Route 6 and 209 so they could fight the fire uninhibited by traffic.

Alltec Lansing makes computer speakers and maintains its corporate headquarters in Pike County. firefighters from three states responded to the blaze, which leveled a warehouse and research and development facility. The company has 140 workers and is one of the county's largest employers. Firefighters contained the flames to one building, and the company will use another struc.